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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25134418">Cracked Chrysalis</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/liketolaugh/pseuds/liketolaugh'>liketolaugh</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>To My Dear and Loving Husband [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Autistic Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Bad Sexual Experiences, Body Dysphoria, Bodyguard Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Coming Out, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Has a Praise Kink, Dirty Talk, Dry Humping, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, First Time, Gender Dysphoria, Nonbinary Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Other, Soft Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Vaginal Fingering, good communication</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:47:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,280</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25134418</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/liketolaugh/pseuds/liketolaugh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After being together for over a year, Markus and Connor decide to add a sexual aspect to their relationship. They run into some problems when Connor takes issue with his newly installed phallic component.</p><p>Features aggressive cuddling, attempted and failed sex, and successful sex, in that order.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>To My Dear and Loving Husband [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1814974</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>133</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cracked Chrysalis</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was Markus who brought the idea up, of course.</p><p>It was one of a dozen evenings where the two of them curled up on the chaise together – an elegant, curved thing in a beautiful deep green, easily able to fit both of them as long as they were willing to cuddle. And they were very rarely against that.</p><p>Markus was sitting up against the back, legs stretched out in front of him and Connor sprawled over his lap; his arms rested on the arch of Connor’s back, sketching with a tablet and stylus. Connor’s head rested between his stomach and the crook of his own arm, and he mentally flicked through a book on windowsill gardening, eyes closed and content. Their legs tangled together a little, Connor half-straddling Markus.</p><p>For once, he wasn’t too worried about keeping careful watch. The security around their apartment in the Jericho district was excellent.</p><p>Eventually, Markus set his tablet aside, and his hands fell to Connor’s back, stroking affectionately. Connor hummed in appreciation, leaning toward him a little without really paying attention.</p><p>“What are you reading?” Markus asked, voice soft in deference to the quiet atmosphere.</p><p>“Windowsill gardens,” Connor murmured, not opening his eyes.</p><p>“Are you thinking about making one?” Markus asked, and Connor could hear the smile in his voice, one of his hands moving to stroke the back of his neck gently.</p><p>Connor nodded, letting out a soft sigh as he relaxed further. “I like the houseplants, but I think I’d enjoy… a larger variety.”</p><p>“What would you put in it?”</p><p>Belatedly realizing that Markus was initiating a proper conversation, Connor blinked his eyes open and turned over to look up at Markus, switching the elbow he cradled his head in. Markus was smiling absentmindedly down at him, not minding his lackluster responses, and Connor offered a faint smile back up.</p><p>“I haven’t decided yet,” Connor admitted, “but I’ve been wondering about edible plants. Herbs, maybe. Would you like that?”</p><p>Markus chuckled softly, moving on to play with a crease in his shirt. “I’m afraid herbs don’t taste very good by themselves, but I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to.” He considered, and then added, “Mint might be fun.”</p><p>Connor let his smile widen and nodded. “We have a couple windows. Maybe some edible plants in one, flowers in another…” He trailed off, thinking about light distribution and accessibility and organization, until Markus rubbed his stomach like a puppy, drawing his attention again. “I was going to decide after I finished the book.”</p><p>“I’m sure whatever you decide on will be excellent,” Markus assured him, and he was still kneading his stomach gently, and Connor wanted to laugh.</p><p>“You’re being unusually affectionate,” he noted instead, pushing himself up a little without dislodging Markus’ hands, elbow sinking into the chaise seat. “What’s on your mind?”</p><p>Markus chuckled sheepishly, eyes crinkling cutely, and moved back to stroking, from Connor’s chest to his stomach, slow and tender. He was silent for a while, and Connor waited patiently, watching him.</p><p>“Have you ever thought about sex?” Markus asked, which was such a surprise that Connor stalled for a moment.</p><p>“No,” he admitted, squirming until he was more fully upright, leaning on the back of the chaise with his legs still strewn over Markus’ lap. Neither of them had sexual components naturally installed, though he knew that the option had become widely available several months before.</p><p>Surprise flickered across Markus’ face. “Really? But you’re so tactile. I assumed it would have occurred to you at some point.”</p><p>Uncertainty creeping up on him, Connor shrugged. “We were getting on fine without it, and it wasn’t a natural option. Neither of us have the parts or the programming. It’s… never bothered me.”</p><p>He wasn’t a man. He was a machine built to look like a man.</p><p>“The parts are available for purchase now,” Markus pointed out, and he sounded wistful enough, reaching down to squeeze Connor’s hand, that Connor focused instantly, almost snapping to attention.</p><p>“Are you interested?” he asked directly, already knowing the answer. Markus gave him a small, sheepish smile and nodded.</p><p>“Both of us enjoy physical intimacy,” Markus explained, indicating how closely they were pressed with his free hand, and Connor smiled and nodded his concession. “And it could be a significant source of stress relief, if we wanted. And…” He faltered, a slight sheen of embarrassment coming over his face, but persisted, “I’d like to see how you responded. You’re already very sensitive to your favorite feelings, so…”</p><p>That was true. And obviously Markus thought they would both enjoy it, which itself made Connor far more inclined to agree.</p><p>However. Most of Connor’s sex-related memories related to either the Eden Club investigation, with bright lights and lingerie-clad bodies trapped in crystal tubes, or the sparse conversation with North, bitter and reflective.</p><p>Markus apparently saw some of that in his expression, and his own softened a little. He leaned over the inch he needed to press a light kiss to Connor’s cheek. “It’s not pressing. I just wanted to plant the idea in your mind.”</p><p>Conversely, that made Connor relax a little, mulling the thought over a little more contemplatively. He cocked his head and unthinkingly reached down to play with the hem of Markus’ shirt. “…It’s planted.”</p><p>Markus smiled, delighted, and his hand dropped to Connor’s hip.</p><p>“We could do a dry run,” he suggested, airy and sly, with that excited light he got in his expression when he was particularly enthusiastic about an idea.</p><p>Connor’s eyes fixed to Markus’, suddenly <em>very </em>interested. “Alright.”</p><p>Without any further prompting, Markus pressed his lips to Connor’s, smooth and dry. Familiar territory; Connor suppressed a smile to open his mouth a little, letting Markus press a bold, wet tongue inside, their lips moving together slow and deliberate.</p><p>Kissing had been a matter of some difficulty at the start of their relationship. Both of them had a sense of taste, but it wasn’t the same – Markus had a household android’s oral sensors, calibrated to match human norms, and Connor had an advanced forensic lab common to medical models.</p><p>This wouldn’t be a problem, except that the cleaning fluid used in their mouths differed as well. Connor’s required an industrial-grade disinfectant, to bleach away traces of blood and disease, and Markus had the more delicate formula meant to keep disruptions to his oral sensors to an absolute minimum.</p><p>And of course, Connor’s disinfectant tasted awful to Markus.</p><p>Eventually, they came to a compromise; since Connor, as Markus’ bodyguard, no longer tested biohazardous substances on a regular basis, he switched his oral cleanser to the household formula.</p><p>If, occasionally, Markus still made him suck a lollipop for a while before they kissed because his mouth was full of traces of dirt or chlorophyll- that was just the price he paid to keep indulging his habit of putting things in his mouth.</p><p>He pressed his tongue against Markus’, a soothing brush of sensor against sensor, smooth against smooth. Markus kept stroking his hip, and eventually started to explore up his sides, firm and almost curious.</p><p>Hesitantly, Connor imitated him, but found himself distracted by the kiss, his oral sensors wanting to spark and purr and his lips warm.</p><p>Markus finally broke the kiss the tease at the buttons of Connor’s shirt, cocking an eyebrow up at him. Connor nodded, curious despite himself, and Markus smiled and started to undo it, charting his progress with pleased strokes of the backs of his fingers over Connor’s chest.</p><p>They’d seen each other naked before, of course, they’d lived together for almost six months, and watched each other change and wash and undergo repairs. But this was different.</p><p>Markus finished undoing Connor’s shirt, pushed it off his shoulders, and spread his hands over the bared skin, and he looked almost reverent, a small and enraptured smile on his face as he <em>fondled </em>Connor’s chest and stomach. Connor found himself- not aroused, he still didn’t have the programming for that, but it was intimate and strange, and he thought he could like it.</p><p>As soon as Connor reached forward, tugging the hem of Markus’ t-shirt up and over, Markus let his hands fall away, cooperating with Connor’s efforts with a contented glow. And soon enough, Connor realized that he was enjoying this- that he liked the chance to touch Markus’ bare skin, feeling the dents and dings of time that self-repair didn’t quite smooth away, and he liked Markus’ low voice, talking eagerly,</p><p>“We could make love after work some days, maybe after the fundraisers and galas when I get to see you in those beautiful embroidered suits you like, with the androgynous tops.”</p><p>Connor circled absently around Markus’ navel, feeling the slight cool of his calm system and scratches left over from some long-past mishap. “You always look captivating during those,” he murmured without looking.</p><p>Markus smiled against his shoulder. “You could sit on my lap and give me a little dance. I think it would be nice to feel you pressed that close to me, moving and rocking…”</p><p>“I’m very nearly sitting in your lap now,” Connor pointed out dryly, and smiled despite himself as he felt Markus press a dry kiss to his cheek, and then his neck, and his shoulder, and when he looked down at him, Markus was still smiling, eyes bright with excitement.</p><p>“We could do it in the office,” Markus continued, palm kneading into Connor’s stomach. “Knowing damn well it’s inappropriate and risky and just too excited to care.”</p><p>“A good and proper use of our time there, I’m sure,” Connor murmured fondly, and Markus grinned at him.</p><p>“We can use the midday break,” he said seriously.</p><p>Connor almost laughed and instead leaned down to catch his lips again, slow and languid. His hands moved around Markus’ back, stroking warmed skin that buzzed just the faintest bit under his fingers if Connor concentrated. Markus kept his hands on Connor’s waist, firm and grounding, and Connor felt- oddly warm and content, melting for the skin contact just as easily as he always did.</p><p>Eventually, he broke away just to nose experimentally down Markus’ body. Grazed his lips against Markus’ warm neck, over his shoulder, past his armpit to press a chaste kiss to his bicep-</p><p>And then he faltered uncertainly, glancing up at Markus, who just looked pleased and proud and affectionate.</p><p>“What do you think you’d like to do?” Markus prompted gently, hands slipped up to somewhere up Connor’s back.</p><p>Connor hesitated, and then admitted softly, “I think I’d like the excuse to kiss you all over.” He liked the idea even now, being able to taste parts of Markus he’d never touched with his mouth before- maybe even parts he hadn’t even touched with his hands yet, just to have done it.</p><p>Markus looked helplessly fond, and Connor felt thirium rush to his cheeks in useless, programmed embarrassment. He dropped his gaze back to Markus’ chest, and admitted even more quietly,</p><p>“…And I think I’d enjoy sucking you off.” He could imagine it, even, Markus’ cock in his mouth and Markus over him, pleased and praising with his hands in Connor’s hair, encouraging him.</p><p>When he dared to glance back up, Markus was grinning, clearly delighted.</p><p>“Well,” he said, “you can do one of those things now.”</p><p>Connor flashed him a smile, and then leaned down and pressed his mouth somewhere on Markus’ chest. It wasn’t just his oral sensors that were hypersensitive, though he could acutely feel the buzz of Markus’ skin program against his tongue. His lips could feel the tiny scratches of time, the faint texture of the synthskin, the subtle ebb and flow of warmth. Connor made his way across Markus’ chest, and slowly, languidly down, lingering briefly over the deeper scar left over after Markus’ deviation.</p><p>There wasn’t much on the surface of his skin, admittedly. But there were shirt fibers, mostly cotton and some polyester; there was dye. There were the faintest traces of paint, the color difficult to distinguish without focusing. Some dust.</p><p>Markus’ hands kneaded into Connor’s back, gently encouraging even as he laughed quietly. One hand wandered up to caress his neck, and then the other dropped to squeeze his ass playfully. Connor paused to raise an eyebrow up at Markus, who just grinned at him affectionately, eyes gleaming.</p><p>Connor smiled too, warm and content, and moved back up to Markus’ shoulder, kissing down his bicep to the crook of his elbow, up his forearm and finally to his palm – traces of dirt, skin oil that must be from shaking hands with humans, salt from somewhere. Paper fibers, ink, the metallic tinge that came from handling computers and tablets.</p><p>Markus’ free hand moved to fondle Connor’s thighs, and then his knees, slow and luxuriant. His calves, with Markus’ cheek bobbing slightly against Connor’s shoulder as he reached.</p><p>“How is it that we’ve been together for a year and we’ve never taken the time to just explore each other?” Markus wondered, tone wistful and tinged with regret. “To touch and feel and <em>be?”</em></p><p>Connor didn’t think it was so vital an oversight. They’d spent hour on hour pressed together, occasionally even before they’d gotten together, cooling off after hard days spent debating with politicians and corporate attorneys. He pressed a dry kiss to Markus’ forehead, not put off by the odd angle, and let his hand go, considering.</p><p>But Markus looked up to consider him, and then took his hand in return. Connor let him, eyebrow cocking curiously, and Markus spread his legs and placed Connor’s hand there, against the smooth space that made up his groin.</p><p>“I’d have a cock, right here,” he said, slow and deliberate, keeping unbroken eye contact with Connor, blue and green focused and intent. “A set of testicles, and you’d be able to feel them as you wrapped your hand around me.”</p><p>Connor felt himself warm again, embarrassed but interested, and he rubbed the empty space tentatively. Markus pushed his hips into it, eyes bright and expectant, and Connor said, slowly, “I can… imagine that.”</p><p>He leaned over to kiss Markus again, and Markus accepted easily, the kiss deep and smooth and practiced. Connor moved his hand to push it inside Markus’ pants, curled his fingers and rubbed them against the smooth surface, and stroked, imagining that smooth skin was sliding against his palm.</p><p>In seconds, though, Connor broke and snickered against Markus’ mouth, pulling away and shaking his head at himself. Markus laughed too, looking a little embarrassed, and Connor pulled his hand back out, leaning back.</p><p>Markus wriggled out of his pants, and Connor watched thoughtfully, tracking the exposure of Markus’ brown skin, smooth sturdy legs and the faint flicker of his knees. The plain underwear he wore underneath, and then the unmarked, bare groin under that when Markus pulled that off as well.</p><p>Then Markus turned onto his stomach and slid down the chaise, half-straddling Connor, and hooked his fingers into Connor’s belt loops.</p><p>“I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” he admitted sheepishly, as if Connor hadn’t worked that out already, and undid the buttons of Connor’s pants before pulling those down as well, offering Connor a sly smirk.</p><p>A little helplessly fond himself, Connor lifted his hips, letting Markus slip his pants down and pause to admire the skin and chassis beneath. Connor watched him rub Connor’s stomach, his hips, his thighs, looking almost fascinated before he looked back up to Connor’s face again, smiled, and pushed his palm against Connor’s crotch.</p><p>“I could just sit here,” Markus said, slow and considering, clearing watching Connor’s reaction, “and stroke you until you were hard, play with you, watch you grow in my hands- would you like that?”</p><p>Connor smiled, vaguely bemused and absurdly lovelorn. For some reason, this was harder to imagine for Connor himself than it had been for Markus; Connor didn’t have a dick, and any image to the contrary slipped from his mind like water. Instead, he was distracted by the feeling of Markus’ hand on the smooth skin there, gentle and affectionate. Markus nosed against it and smiled up at him suggestively, cute and excited.</p><p>Connor’s head tipped back, and he sighed softly, letting his legs spread.</p><p>“Yeah,” he agreed meekly. A moment later, he reached down and tugged at Markus’ arms, encouraging him to move up over Connor, and caught his mouth, rubbing his hips slowly.</p><p>He imagined Markus’ cock moving inside him, eager and firm. He thought he’d like that.</p><p>He broke the kiss off early, met Markus’ eyes, and asked, “Would you want to fuck me?”</p><p>Markus’ eyes lit up, clearly pleased.</p><p>“Definitely,” he said with conviction, and reached for one of Connor’s hands, skin pulling back to interface. Connor accepted without hesitation, letting the two of them sink into each other, alight with anticipation and excitement and affection, wrapped together without any concern but for staying close and intimate.</p><hr/><p>They ordered parts a few days later, sitting on the chaise together with a pad set between them. Markus spent almost half an hour customizing his, setting the hard/soft dimensions (short, but noticeably thicker than average), the veins, the size of the head and foreskin and testicles (one the slightest bit larger than the other for no reason but to make them less perfect). A short but thick bush of coarse pubic hair gathered at the base. Connor tucked his head on Markus’ shoulder and watched, faintly amused.</p><p>That amusement faded into dubiousness as soon as Markus passed the tablet to him, and he stared at the customizer for a long moment before he shook his head, checked human averages, and inputted them to the form. He was done in less than five minutes, and Markus laughed.</p><p>“You really don’t want to personalize it?” Markus asked, glancing up at him. “This is going to be part of your body, after all.”</p><p>Connor smiled a little, shrugging. “It’ll serve its purpose,” he dismissed. He was still having a hard time picturing it as a part of him at all, but his imagination was not particularly good with these things anyway. He assumed the issue would clear up once it was actually installed. “I’m going to stay with you while you’re undergoing installation, by the way.”</p><p>Repairs and modifications had moved in large part over to the hands of androids after the dissolution of Cyberlife and the initial scramble for trained technicians – largely pioneered by the rehabilitated victims of Zlatko’s experiments – but when Markus, it was always better to be safe than sorry.</p><p>Markus pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “I’d expect nothing less,” he said fondly. “I’ll make sure to do the same. There’s no need for you to be alone with them unless you want to be.”</p><p>Some of the tension melted out of Connor’s shoulders as Markus eased a concern he hadn’t even realized he’d had. “Thank you.”</p><p>It was- almost intoxicating, in an odd way, how well Markus knew him. Hank was brilliant at steering Connor in more personally fulfilling directions, North was wonderfully blunt when he was confused and uncertain, but Markus, over the year and a half they’d known each other, had gained something of an intuition for Connor’s inner workings until he knew Connor almost better than Connor knew himself.</p><p>Further, it was nice to <em>live </em>together; to share a space, to sit quietly together and to sleep together, get ready in the morning and come home at night. Connor hadn’t realized just how touch-starved he was until he was able to curl up with Markus whenever he wanted, and he believed Markus felt the same, with the way he always relaxed tucked against Connor’s chest.</p><p>Certainly, it had been difficult in the beginning – Connor reserved and wary of upsetting anyone at all, let alone Markus, and Markus unsure of how welcome his particular brand of ardent and unabashed affection would be after North’s skittish defensiveness – but he liked to think they’d settled since then.</p><p>There was, Connor thought wistfully, not a single thing he regretted about confessing his feelings to Markus in that dusty hotel room.</p><p>Markus’ hand nudged against his, and Connor blinked and looked at him in question. Markus’ eyes were soft and focused.</p><p>“Everything alright?” Markus questioned, with only a touch of concern.</p><p>Connor smiled and nudged a little closer, bumping his forehead against Markus’. “I love you,” he said quietly.</p><p>Markus huffed a laugh, more breath than sound, and pressed a kiss to Connor’s mouth, their lips sliding slowly and contentedly, like they couldn’t get enough but had all the time in the world.</p><hr/><p>Connor disliked the new component as soon as it was installed. It rubbed and chafed. It took up too much room inside his pants. It was. Visible. All put together, it was distracting and uncomfortable, and it made him tense.</p><p>Markus, on the other hand, was eager and ecstatic, and all over Connor as soon as they were in the taxi. His enthusiasm was infectious, and Connor found himself swept away by the new sensations, just as Markus knew he would be – the spark of Markus’ skin on his, the enticing wet slide of a kiss, Markus shuddering under his touch.</p><p>And he loved it. It was warm and electric, and he felt something down around his groin and ground down on instinct, pushing a hand under Markus’ shirt and his breath hitching as Markus bit down lightly on his lip.</p><p>As soon as they arrived home, they disappeared shamelessly into the bedroom, already a little disheveled, clothes creased and messy. Connor straddled Markus’ lap and their dicks rubbed together, sending raw heat up Connor’s spine.</p><p>But there was something wrong about it, about the press of the hardening component against the front of his jeans, and Connor found himself distracted for a moment, puzzled.</p><p>Then Markus grabbed his attention again, hands hooking into Connor’s knees and breathless with delight, starting to mouth down Connor’s neck.</p><p>“This is wonderful,” Markus said earnestly, his breath quick and excited, “You’re so much warmer and your touch feels so hot and I didn’t realize you could be so <em>hungry </em>for something like this.”</p><p>Markus’ hands kneaded Connor’s thighs, and he took a sharp breath, Markus’ words putting a new heat in his belly. Markus’ expression when he looked back up at Connor was one Connor had never seen before, but somehow he knew it in his bones, a heavy-lidded and covetous look that was almost magnetic.</p><p>Then Markus’ eyes cleared a little, and his expression softened and he slowed down, dipping his head a little. “Come on, Connor,” he coaxed, tugging one of Connor’s hands up to his shirt.</p><p>Connor hummed, low and toneless, and reached over to ease Markus’ shirt up and over his head, setting it aside. His hands mapped out Markus’ chest, slow and cautious, feeling Markus tense and shudder, pushing into his hands, and then he tentatively pressed Markus down onto the bed. Markus went easily, grinning, and worried at Connor’s neck again, hiking him up by the ass.</p><p>Connor shuddered, enjoying the heat that bolted through him, and leaned down to press a kiss to Markus’ throat, and then his collarbone and across his chest. The weight of Markus’ grip on his shirt grounded him, steadied him, and he kept going, over Markus’ shoulder and down his arm again to press a chaste kiss to Markus’ palm, just as he had before. When he looked up, Markus was smiling at him, eyes crinkled and fond, and after a second, Connor smiled back warmly.</p><p>“Perfect, Connor,” Markus praised, making Connor shiver a little. “God, you’re perfect. This is everything I wanted, you feel so <em>good, </em>Connor.” His voice was almost more emotional than it was aroused, subtly rough with it.</p><p>“…Good,” Connor said honestly, and then, a little quieter, honest and self-conscious, “It… feels good, Markus.”</p><p>Markus reached up to tug Connor’s shirt up over his head next, and there was something odd about that too, about the way it squeezed around his shoulders- but the thought was gone as soon as Markus rolled them over to put Connor on his belly (his erect component <em>rubbing </em>against the sheets-) and kissed down his back, making Connor squirm and laugh, his legs spreading a little behind him.</p><p>“Are you going to squirm under me, Connor?” Markus asked, working himself up again now, quick and excited. “Writhe under my touch because I’m making you feel so good?”</p><p>He groped Connor’s ass, firm and eager, and Connor rocked back into it, warm and pleased, and thought that he might, probably, like it if Markus fucked him after all.</p><p>He rolled over and pulled Markus down into a kiss, and it was hot and slick and their tongues pressed together so <em>beautifully. </em>He reached down to work Markus’ jeans off, leaving just the boxers with his new bulge pressing against the front.</p><p>Without breaking away, he slipped his hands up to squeeze Markus’ ass, and Markus instantly ground down against Connor with a pleased gasp. Connor winced, distracted from the pretty expression Markus made as he processed the arousal, and rolled them both over so he was on top again.</p><p>“You look very pretty like this,” Connor said honestly, studying Markus’ chest to avoid looking him in the face. “I… I like feeling you move under my hands.”</p><p>“God, Connor…” Connor glanced up at Markus’ emotional rasp, at his doting expression, and smiled hesitantly under the onslaught of a warm sort of intimacy that reminded him of their dry run a few weeks before.</p><p>Thinking of that, he reached down, into Markus’ boxers, wrapped his hand around the soft, throbbing shaft, and stroked. Markus’ hands clamped down on his arms, and he bucked into Connor’s grip, letting out a strangled gasp. Connor smiled, pleased and somehow unfamiliarly smug at Markus’ reaction, at his hazy eyes.</p><p>Markus laughed, clearly delighted, and slid his hands down from Connor’s arms, to his sides, his hips, and taking a detour to squeeze his thighs before he finally ground his palm against Connor’s-</p><p>Connor’s system- glitched. That was all he could think of to describe it.</p><p>The languid pleasure disappeared, and instead he jerked away from Markus’ hand, his own sliding out of Markus’ boxers, catching on the covers. It was almost dizzying, a spike of aimless panic as the discomfort of the foreign component went from ‘unpleasant’ to ‘overwhelming’. The arousal still clung to Connor’s body, but it was strange and frustrating, and he suddenly wanted nothing to do with it.</p><p>Markus was upright in an instant, eyes wide and worried. “Connor, what happened, are you alright?”</p><p>Connor blinked up at him, unwillingly rigid, his hands pressed into the soft covers and his knees still straddling Markus’ lower legs and his <em>groin- </em>and his hands were too big, his shoulders too wide, and he felt, he felt-</p><p>“Sorry,” he managed, quiet and strained. Markus’ expression melted into clear dismay, and Connor felt worse, but Markus only eased back, careful and unrushed.</p><p>“It’s okay,” Markus soothed easily, rocking forward as if to reach out and then settling back again decisively. “Everything is fine. Can you tell me what happened?”</p><p>Connor pushed himself warily upright, hissing at the scrape of his- component, and just let out a short, miserable hum, unable to put together anything better. He didn’t know. He didn’t know why this had happened.</p><p>“Alright,” Markus agreed, still soft and calm. “Can I touch you? Above the waist, I promise.”</p><p>Connor nodded, quick and tight, and Markus wrapped an arm around his shoulders, just hugging him, firm and steady, and Connor relaxed a little, leaning in until his cheek bumped against Markus’.</p><p>“Sorry,” he repeated unhappily, because they’d been having so much <em>fun, </em>but it wasn’t just his new component that he was overly conscious of now, it was his jaw, his hips, his <em>shoulders-</em></p><p>“It’s <em>alright,” </em>Markus repeated, gentle and patient with just an echo of disappointment. “There’s no point to this if we aren’t both enjoying it.”</p><p>Connor bit his cheek, because they <em>had </em>both been enjoying it, and if he’d just been able to adapt to the new component-</p><p>But he didn’t voice that, letting his locked voice stay quiet, and Markus didn’t move either, just sitting with him, quiet and calming and steady.</p><p>Slowly, Connor’s breath slowed down, and he relaxed.</p><hr/><p>They had one small mirror in their adapted apartment, in the bathroom; it was kept clean but did not see a lot of use except fleetingly, much like the rest of that room.</p><p>Markus found Connor in front of it the next day, scowling at himself with an expression normally reserved for particularly poisonous and hypocritical anti-android advocates. Markus hesitated by the door for a moment, worried, and then came in just to lean against the wall by the door.</p><p>“What are you looking at?” he asked lightly, hiding most of his concern.</p><p>“Nothing,” Connor snapped, so rigid he looked like he might break at any moment. He didn’t take his eyes off the mirror, hands gripping the edge of the counter. Markus could just see the skin of his fingertips pulling back. After a few seconds, he exhaled and said, less harshly, “I just- I look wrong. My, my jaw is too square, and my shoulders are too wide and my hands are <em>big </em>and- and my skin just <em>doesn’t fit!”</em></p><p>“You look like you did yesterday,” Markus reminded him gently, stepping closer and dropping his guise of unconcern, reaching out to set his hand on one of Connor’s.</p><p>“I know,” Connor gritted out, looking miserable. “I <em>know. </em>I’m being stupid. But the new component is messing with my mind, and I just- I’m not a damn <em>man, </em>Markus!”</p><p>His voice rose on the last few words, almost cracking with frustration and stress. Markus faltered, taken aback, his hand still resting on Connor’s.</p><p>Markus was quite certain he’d never heard Connor say that before, but Connor said that with such conviction, such clear and decisive irritation, that for a moment Markus wondered if Connor had told him and he’d simply forgotten.</p><p>More pressingly, though, Connor looked raw and vulnerable in a way that he rarely let himself be even at home, almost on the verge of tears. Markus took a moment, and then asked, delicate and even, “What do you mean?”</p><p>Finally, Connor looked over at him, eyes still wide and unhappy enough to tug at Markus’ chest, only now he looked confused as well.</p><p>“I’m <em>not </em>a man,” he pointed out, voice rough with strain. “I’m a machine designed to look like a man.”</p><p>Under the circumstances, Markus bit back his instinctive reaction to that – that Connor was so much more than a machine, that he didn’t have to think of himself that way, that he could be whoever he wanted to be – and examined it more closely. Connor had few words to easily offer at the best of times, and under this much stress, Markus didn’t want to push.</p><p>Connor did not consider himself a man. Markus, by contrast, had never even entertained the notion of being anything else; to his knowledge, North hadn’t either, and it wasn’t something he’d heard in common conversation.</p><p>“Is this about your…” He hesitated. “New component?”</p><p>Connor scowled again.</p><p>“I liked everything else about last night,” he said with some measure of bitterness. Guiltily, Markus took some reassurance from that, that Connor had not unilaterally hated the experience. “It all felt good, it was just- the component. It’s, it’s big and floppy and- I was hoping I’d adjust, but… God, Markus, how did you <em>stand </em>it?”</p><p>Markus considered that, frowning a little, because he hadn’t really thought anything of it at all. He just- had.</p><p>“I never disliked it,” he said at last, plainly. He thought about it a little more, and elaborated slowly, “It felt… more like a puzzle piece that I hadn’t realized I was missing, slotting into place.” While he’d never been unhappy for the absence of a genital component, it had been- unexpectedly euphoric to get it installed, which he’d attributed to the rush of new feelings and pleasure.</p><p>Connor deflated, looking despondent, and Markus rushed to reassure him.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter, Connor,” he assured him firmly. “If it’s uncomfortable, we can just set an appointment to get it uninstalled. No harm done. We tried it and it didn’t work out, end of story.”</p><p>Connor still looked a little guilty, but it was, clearly, overwhelmed by his relief.</p><p>“I’ll make the call,” he said, not meeting Markus’ eyes. “Give me just a minute.”</p><p>While he handled that, just a foot away, Markus mulled over what he knew. What he could guess. What Connor was probably open to dealing with right now. And wondered.</p><p>Twenty minutes later, Connor let out a sigh and said, “The next available appointment is in a week and a half. I… suppose I will be fine until then.”</p><p>Markus squeezed his hand, and Connor relaxed a little, turned it over, and let their fingers intertwine.</p><p>“About what you said earlier,” Markus started, and Connor glanced up at him, tired but curious. “I have… never questioned the idea that I am a man, even though I am also a machine.” As uneasiness started to creep across Connor’s face, Markus pushed to finish. “Connor- do you think that there might be something more to your conviction than just the circumstances of your creation?”</p><p>“Like what?” Connor asked, visibly reserved.</p><p>“You might be nonbinary,” Markus suggested, deliberately mild.</p><p>Connor froze, and then blinked at him, going straight past thoughtful into overwhelmed. Markus rocked forward to kiss him on the cheek and murmured,</p><p>“Just think about it. You don’t have to talk to me about it right away.” He fell back on his heels and tugged at Connor’s hand. “Now come on, Connor. We’ve got a lot to do today, and we’re running a little late.”</p><p>Connor straightened right up, shedding his discomfort like a snakeskin, though Markus knew it would still be buzzing in his wires until the issue was resolved. For now, at least, he nodded sharply and followed Markus out the door.</p><p>A week and a half until the next available appointment. Well, Markus would have to see what he could do for Connor until then.</p><hr/><p>Connor was distracted and distant that whole week, fidgeting with his clothes and the leaves of houseplants and any bit or bob that he could get his tactile fingers on. Three times he disappeared for a few hours to talk to Hank, and twice to North.</p><p>Markus let him be, used to the faint drag of worry that came with letting Connor take the time to process things; pushing him along usually did more harm than good.</p><p>When Connor said, taciturn and avoiding eye contact, that he could maybe use a new jacket, Markus took it for what it meant, and the two of them went to shop for clothes. Markus picked out a few t-shirts just to show, fond of them for all that he could rarely afford to wear them, and spend the rest of the time following Connor as he flitted between sections indiscriminately.</p><p>Seventy-five minutes later, Connor tugged Markus into the fitting room with him, holding nothing but a pretty purple shawl, beaded beautifully. He sat Markus down in the chair, turned to the mirror, and slowly, deliberately, wrapped the shawl around his shoulders – which, Markus noted, softened them noticeably, making them seem smaller, or maybe more delicate. Connor stared at the mirror for a minute, and then took a short, shallow breath.</p><p>Sensing that Connor was finally ready to speak, Markus waited, idling on the fitting room chair.</p><p>Connor hesitated. Hesitated. And didn’t look away from his image in the mirror.</p><p>“It seems… easier,” Connor said at last, slow and faltering, “to keep my usual pronouns. They’ve never bothered me at all, and they’re <em>mine.” </em>He hesitated again, fiddling with the end of the shawl. “But…”</p><p>Markus hummed, soft and attentive, and Connor still didn’t look at him, but he did relax, slightly, taking another breath.</p><p>“But I might like it if you used… they. Sometimes.”</p><p>His voice was so soft Markus almost struggled to hear it, shy and wavering but with an unmistakable thread of <em>hopefulness – </em>closer to anticipation, maybe.</p><p>And, well. Markus hadn’t spent the last week <em>ignoring </em>the turmoil that had preceeded it.</p><p>He smiled gently.</p><p>“So you mean,” he said, “I can talk about my partner Connor, and their beautiful new shawl that looks so pretty on them? And how proud I am of how brave they are?”</p><p>Finally, Connor turned to face him, and for the first time that whole week, they <em>smiled, </em>bright and pleased, eyes crinkling a little as they beamed at Markus. “…Yes. Exactly that.”</p><p>There was more conversation to have – language to negotiate, boundaries to find – but this, Markus felt, was more than a decent beginning.</p><hr/><p>The technician nodded along, listening attentively, as Connor, wearing the new shawl, haltingly explained the problem that… that they had been experiencing. He- they, felt that she was owed an explanation, since the two of them were back so unusually soon.</p><p>The technician’s office was closer to a computer repair shop than a car mechanic’s, though Connor knew the actual surgical areas were closer to the latter. There was also a clean table for Connor to sit on, like a human doctor’s office, a few stray chairs, and a set of metal cabinets and toolboxes full of basic supplies.</p><p>The technician, a patient AP700 android named Scarlet, stood at the foot, leaning slightly on the wall as he talked.</p><p>Once they were done, unexpectedly, Scarlet asked, “Have you considered switching components instead of just removing it?”</p><p>Connor- had not considered that.</p><p>They glanced automatically at Markus, who had in turn looked automatically at Connor. Markus looked a little wary, somewhat uncertain, but Connor found themself thoughtful. After a few seconds of silence, Scarlet smiled faintly and added,</p><p>“I can put a rush on the part if that’s what you decide. It would take a few hours, but that’s better than having to come back in a few weeks. I’ll give you a few minutes to talk about it.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Connor said politely, distracted by the proposal, and she tapped around on a tablet for a minute before setting it on the table nearby and leaving.</p><p>“What do you think?” Markus asked as soon as the technician was gone, leaning toward Connor with his hand planted on the seat.</p><p>Connor considered it for a few minutes longer, quietly.</p><p>He imagined having a vulva, and found it wasn’t so difficult. He imagined what <em>their </em>vulva might look like, what it might feel like – fingers rubbing on the outside, Markus’ cock sliding into it, arousal concentrated safely inside them, where it belongs. Space between his legs again, only a little bit of rubbing he wasn’t used to.</p><p>“I think I’d like that,” he said at last, slow and thoughtful. They glanced over. “Not just having sex, but I mean- specifically, I think I’d like a vulva component.”</p><p>Markus took a second to process that, clearly surprised, and then nodded, a small, warm smile curling his mouth. “Alright. If you want to penetrate?”</p><p>Connor shrugged. “A strap-on should do the job fine.” It’s not like it would be <em>their </em>dick. They considered. “I may want to top sometimes regardless.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t expect any less,” Markus agreed, with a quick, chaste kiss on the cheek. “Do you know what you want to call it?”</p><p>Connor shook his head, and then amended, “Not a pussy. Otherwise…” They shrugged again. They could work it out as they went along.</p><p>They spent a few more minutes going back and forth until they were both more comfortable, and then Connor nodded.</p><p>As if he’d been waiting for that signal, Markus reached for the tablet that the technician had left behind and passed it to Connor. Connor held it and considered the customizer for a minute, and then started to work.</p><p>He didn’t put as much thought into it as Markus had, but that was no surprise; he kept it simple, with even, closed labia and a thin coat of smooth, soft pubic hair, an opening that would accommodate Markus’ erect girth without… <em>much </em>trouble, and a clit that they allowed themself to make just a touch larger than standard.</p><p>It took not quite fifteen minutes, and when he was done, he was smiling a little, feeling substantially more confident in his decision.</p><p>(And there was no mistaking the bright look of anticipation starting to creep up in Markus’ expression again.)</p><hr/><p>The two of them were more cautious this time around, for fairly obvious reasons; though Connor could tell that Markus was getting excited again, and he was even starting to look forward to it himself, they agreed to wait at least a day to let him adjust to the new part before they tried again.</p><p>And he found that it was- fine. It was fine. It didn’t bother them when they walked, or bulge from their lap. It rubbed a little, as he’d expected, but nothing extraordinary.</p><p>Connor hadn’t mentioned it to Markus, but he’d showered a while before he became fixated on his reflection. It had been… uncomfortable, to say the least, a hyperawareness of their own body and a cascade of mental static as they’d handled the parts around their groin.</p><p>They tried again now and found that it was not only bearable, but perfectly fine. Navigating the new curves meant he had to be more careful than usual, but it was simply new, not bad.</p><p>So, with caution, the two of them decided to attempt sex again.</p><p>They started in sleep clothes, just sitting on the bed together in a way that was familiar and reassuring. One of Connor’s hands stayed caught with Markus’, and Markus himself smiled at Connor, confident and warm, with a hint of well-hidden worry.</p><p>He pressed a chaste kiss to Connor’s cheek, keeping hold of his hand, and murmured, “Take it slow, love, we have all night.”</p><p>Connor hummed agreement and turned to kiss Markus’ mouth again, deep and pressing, a wet slide that had been comfortable and intimate before and was just as much so now, only with something new and promising to it as well.</p><p>The longer they lingered there, mouths moving together in a familiar rhythm, close and warm, the more both of them relaxed. Markus’ hands shifted up to grip Connor’s upper arms lightly, and Connor reached to fiddle with the hem of Markus’ shirt, leaning into the kiss as if to take more. After another minute, he slid his hands under the cloth again and felt Markus sigh against their mouth, content. Connor smiled hesitantly.</p><p>Markus broke the kiss to nuzzle against their neck, exhaling softly.</p><p>“I love kissing you,” Markus murmured, like it was a secret, private thing, smiling against Connor’s neck where they could just feel the shape of it. “I love <em>holding </em>you – I could do this all by itself for hours.”</p><p>Connor felt a little more tension drain from his body, because it was true. They <em>had </em>done that, in fact, dozens of times before, and they’d been not just content, but almost ecstatic from the fact. “…Me too.”</p><p>They focused again on the faint scratches and dents under their hands, the deep one where Lucy had patched Markus over a year and a half ago, another set that they knew to be from an accident early on in Markus’ life- Markus’ chassis was broad and steady, and Connor stroked up and down, back and forth, losing himself a little in the soothing rhythm.</p><p>One of his hands drifted down enough to graze Markus’ waistband, and they hesitated, then moved them to Markus’ stomach instead. Markus started kissing his neck, soft and only a little damp, and Connor made a low noise as it tingled on their skin.</p><p>It was more comfortable than hot, for now, which was its own reassurance, giving them both time to find their footing. Connor tilted their head to give Markus better access and cautiously rubbed circles into Markus’ abs, feeling him sigh again. After a minute, they ducked down, accidentally dislodging Markus, and pressed his mouth on a spot on Markus’ collarbone that he remembered from last time.</p><p>Markus’ voice caught on the start of a moan, and his hands dropped to squeeze Connor’s hips. The sound triggered something carnal in Connor’s gut, and he finally started to feel arousal collecting in their groin, warmth around their thighs and a tingling want somewhere inside them. And he liked it, but not enough to plunge ahead full force.</p><p>Markus, though, was getting into it, breath starting to deepen as he heated up.</p><p>“You’re doing so well,” he said, low and breathy, his legs shifting a little under him as if restless, his hand coming up to cradle the back of Connor’s neck. “You’re wonderful, Connor, so brave and so good for me.”</p><p>Connor’s breath caught just a little, for no readily apparent reason, and he kept pressing deeper and harder kisses along Markus’ neck and collar, taking note of each time Markus’ breath hitched in clear arousal. He liked that, liked feeling Markus react so much to his touch.</p><p>He moved his hands up to fiddle with the buttons of Markus’ sleep shirt, and then started to undo them, nosing down Markus’ chest as he went. He took a breath, hesitated, and then said, quietly, against the static skin,</p><p>“I like feeling you. I can feel your skin program buzzing against my tongue, and… and I like the dents and scratches. They’re. You.”</p><p>Markus shuddered under his mouth, and Connor tried not to show too much of their embarrassment. It became easier when Markus threaded his fingers through Connor’s hair, murmured “God, Connor” again, and then reached down to tug questioningly at the hem of their shirt.</p><p>Connor felt warm, pleasantly wound up. They nodded.</p><p>Markus pulled Connor’s shirt up and over his head, and then ran his hands over Connor’s sensitized skin. Connor shivered, pressing into it instinctively, and glanced up just in time to see Markus smiling at him, pleased and proud. Then Markus reached down further, cupped Connor’s ass, and squeezed deliberately, and Connor closed their eyes and let out another deep, soft sound of want.</p><p>“Alright?” Markus checked, serious and low, but when Connor looked up there was nothing but affection and a dark, hooded desire there. Connor nodded.</p><p>“It feels… very good,” he admitted, pushing himself upright.</p><p>Markus smiled at him and then spread his own legs invitingly, exposing the line of his mostly-hard cock pressing against his pants. Connor started to reach, hesitated, and glanced at Markus for approval. When Markus softened and nodded indulgently, they pushed their hands to Markus’ thighs and stroked, long and kneading and exploratory, thumbs digging into Markus’ inner thighs.</p><p>“Shit,” Markus breathed, eyes closing, and Connor froze uncertainly. After a moment, Markus opened his eyes again and met Connor’s gaze, flashing him a smile. “No, it’s good, it’s wonderful, Connor, you’re so good.”</p><p>There was an earnestness in his voice beyond what he usually had, heated and passionate, and Connor felt heat pulsing in his groin. He pressed his thighs together, rubbing them against each other, and that felt good too.</p><p>They scooted closer to worry at Markus’ neck again, just a little rougher, one of their hands still rubbing at Markus’ inner thigh, and then they asked almost shyly, “Can you squeeze my ass again?”</p><p>Markus’ breath was heavy with desire, and he obeyed eagerly, fingers digging deeply into Connor’s ass where they knelt by him.</p><p>Connor <em>moaned, </em>open and nearly wanton, surprising both of them into freezing.</p><p>Then, decisively, Markus said, “I’m going to make sure you do that as much as possible.”</p><p>Connor, starting to breathe just as heavily as Markus, had absolutely no idea what to say to that. But he did know that Markus’ hard cock was right there, less than an inch from his hand, and so he palmed it, massaging slow and careful. Markus grunted, legs spreading further without even a moment of hesitation.</p><p>“God, you’re perfect,” Markus breathed, an edge of raw emotion creeping into his voice alongside the lust again. “That feels so good, Connor, I love it, I love you.”</p><p>He reached up to cradle the back of Connor’s neck before he could think of a reply, pulling them down to taste Markus’ skin, tongue sliding up the side of his neck. Markus was panting now, the start of hitched moans starting to creep into his voice, and his cock was hard and thick in Connor’s hand.</p><p>He was so <em>pretty – </em>so perfect, and so <em>hot, </em>his eyes closed to focus on the sensations and his free hand grasping for Connor’s thigh again, firm and hungry. Connor let out a short, hot breath, turned their mouth away from Markus’ neck, and reached down to press their fingers between their own thighs.</p><p>The material slid wetly against him. <em>He </em>was wet, moisture gathered thickly at his groin, and tingling arousal burst to life against his fingers. It felt <em>perfect.</em></p><p>He must have made a sound of some sort, because then Markus was looking at him again, worried and distracted even as he kept panting. “Connor? Still fine?”</p><p><em>“Yeah,” </em>Connor breathed, hot and flushed, and then started to tug at Markus’ pants.</p><p>Markus cooperated eagerly, lifting his hips and kicking them off as they reached his ankles, and Connor reached without hesitation to stroke his bare cock. Markus groaned, thrusting into his grip.</p><p>“Fuck, I want to touch you,” he hissed, looking back at Connor with hooded, wanting eyes, voice thick with feeling again. “Please, can I touch you? Can I stroke you between your pretty thighs?”</p><p>Without hesitation, almost without thinking, Connor kicked off their own pants and spread his legs for Markus. Markus leaned over and reached down to stroke him with three gentle fingers, just over the surface of his labia.</p><p>It was- hot and wonderful, the skin hypersensitive as if it had been just waiting for this alone, and Connor clamped his hand down over Markus’ as if to keep it there and moaned again, arousal bolting up his spine from where Markus was touching his wet vulva.</p><p><em>“Markus,” </em>he said breathlessly, low and insistent, and when he met Markus’ eyes his breath hitched, because they were dark with want, mouth open just a little as he stared intently at Connor, cheeks flushed subtly blue. Connor’s mind started to fog with pleasure, his processor catching and looping in the moment, reinforcing itself.</p><p>In a split second’s decision, Connor climbed into Markus’ lap, their wet labia coming into firm contact with Markus’ thick cock. Both of them were panting now, hot and heavy, and Connor ground slow and cautious against Markus, whose hands clamped down on Connor’s hips, head tipped back to stare Connor in the eyes, lustful and adoring in equal measure even as he tugged, guiding the rock of Connor’s hips. They slid slickly together, perfect and hot, and Connor let out an involuntary whimper.</p><p>“Fuck yes,” Markus choked out, silently urging Connor to hump against him faster. “God, Connor, yes, you’re so, ah, perfect, so hot, you feel so-<em>ohh</em> good on my cock and-” Faster, Connor almost rutting against Markus and almost dizzy with pleasure. Markus gasped, shuddering violently. “Fuck- Fuck, Connor, beautiful, uhh, yes, just like that, yes, yes- <em>uhn!”</em></p><p>And Markus came, beautifully, bucking up against Connor and spilling on his stomach in a few deep thrusts, crying out shamelessly. Connor watched with wide eyes, entranced, loving the feel of Markus’ hands clenching on their thighs, and only when Markus was calming down, still shuddering and panting, did he tuck the memory clip away somewhere safe and treasured.</p><p>Finally, Markus refocused, smiling at him with an almost daft sort of infatuated expression. And then he looked puzzled, and then crestfallen, and Connor stiffened up guiltily, because he was still tense and shivery with arousal, groin throbbing wetly, because he’d been too slow and now Markus felt bad because Connor <em>couldn’t come.</em></p><p>Markus just smiled at him though, regrouping easily, and said, “Now it’s your turn. Can you lay back for me?”</p><p>Confused and unsure, Connor obeyed, splaying against the bedspread except where their elbows held them up to watch, while Markus rearranged himself, his cock just starting to soften. Markus smiled at him warmly, and then leaned down and started to kiss up Connor’s stomach, cleaning up most of the spilled come, slow and languid.</p><p>“That was wonderful,” Markus said between kisses, soft and soothing, “I can’t wait to do this again, Connor. You’ve been so good for me.”</p><p>Something about the words made Connor whimper, hot and sensitive, watching Markus make his way up Connor’s chest. Then Markus brought his hand to Connor’s groin, his <em>cunt </em>again, rubbing slow and firm circles over Connor’s clit, and Connor moaned loudly, the pleasure making him melt against the pillows.</p><p>“Markus, please,” he begged, aimless but trusting and <em>hot, </em>overwarm in his skin and feeling so <em>good.</em></p><p>Markus grinned at him, soft and pleased, and then pushed a finger into Connor’s cunt. He whimpered, bucking against the touch, wanting it deeper already. Wanting more. Markus nosed against his throat and kissed there, and Connor squirmed, hands clenching in the covers, and mewled despite himself.</p><p>It was a lot. It was a lot and it was so <em>good </em>and there was a knot, just beginning to tie in Connor’s belly, sending electric tingles across his body.</p><p>Markus added a second finger and rubbed, artless and unpracticed but clearly enthusiastic, and Connor arched, gasping.</p><p>“You’re so pretty when you’re hot,” Markus murmured, low and pleased, “you’re taking this so well, baby, so well, I’m so proud of you.” He licked against Connor’s neck, hot and dirty, and Connor choked on another moan, eyes fixed on Markus, and when Markus smiled at him his whole body throbbed. “You’re going to be so gorgeous when you come.”</p><p>Markus kissed Connor then, and Connor could taste the composition of Markus’ new cum on his tongue. Markus added a third finger, stretching them out, and rubbed their clit, and Connor whimpered, overwhelmed, their hips twitching into Markus’ hand until he had to break the kiss to pant.</p><p>“Markus, Markus, oh God, oh fuck, Markus ohh <em>ohh</em>-” Markus crooked his fingers and Connor whined, hips flexing, a knot pulling tight and full and- “Markus, ah, please, please, just like that, I, I- ah ah <em>a-aah!”</em></p><p>Markus stroked three fingers even inside them, and rubbed their clit in an even firm circle. Connor gasped, and then their hips jerked, grinding Markus’ fingers deeper into them, and then they came around them, hips rolling luxuriantly to force Markus’ fingers against a hot spot deep in his cunt, whining softly as the pleasure washed over them, hot and pulsing and brand new but so fucking <em>good.</em></p><p>When he came to a minute later, panting, Markus was staring at them, eyes wide with wonder.</p><p>“God, Markus,” Connor managed at last, voice as heavy with emotion as Markus’ had been earlier, “that was- <em>amazing.”</em></p><p>Markus beamed at him, and then flopped down in obvious satisfaction and pulled him over just to kiss him, hard and pleased. Connor kissed back without hesitation, feeling a warm and sated pleasure in his whole body.</p><p>He wanted to feel that again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've been wanting to do a nonbinary Connor piece for a while, but I didn't come across a really good idea for it until I hit on this verse. If you have questions about any of the worldbuilding/character process in this fic, feel free to ask!</p><p>Since the other two fics in this verse were published prior to this one, they use exclusively he/him pronouns and I'm not gonna go back and edit. Future fics will use both.</p><p>Thank you for reading, and please drop a comment!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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